This Week In Movies: ‘Shazam!,’ ‘Pet Sematary, ‘Amazing Grace,’ ‘High Life’

‘This Week In Movies’ is a weekly column that catches you up on all the new film releases coming out in theaters. This week, thirteen films make their debut which hopefully will try to inspire you, make you reflect, provoke and just plain ol’ entertain you. Read on!

By looking at all the premieres this week, the one that stands out the most to me is High Life, a sci-fi drama directed by female French auteur Claire Denis, who at 72, is just making her English-language debut. It stars Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche. It’s an arthouse sci-fi movie about isolation and family. See what else might interest you and remember to listen to our podcast every Friday for our review of movies and interviews with filmmakers and other notable figures of American and Latino pop culture.

WIDE RELEASE

Shazam! (PG-13, 132m, Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy)
Director: David F. Sandberg
Cast: Zachary Levi, Michelle Borth, Djimon Hounsou, Mark Strong
Synopsis: We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s case, by shouting out one word – SHAZAM! – this streetwise fourteen-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult superhero Shazam.

Pet Sematary (R, 101m, Horror | Thriller)
Director: Kevin Kölsch, Dennis Widmyer
Cast: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow, Jeté Laurence
Synopsis: Dr. Louis Creed and his wife, Rachel, relocate from Boston to rural Maine with their two young children. The couple soon discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near their new home.

High Life (R, 110m, Adventure | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi)
Director: Claire Denis
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André Benjamin, Mia Goth
Synopsis: Monte (Robert Pattinson) and his baby daughter are the last survivors of a damned and dangerous mission to deep space. The crew—death-row inmates led by a doctor (Juliette Binoche) with sinister motives—has vanished. As the mystery of what happened onboard the ship is unraveled, father and daughter must rely on each other to survive as they hurtle toward the oblivion of a black hole.

Peterloo (PG-13, 154m, Drama | History)
Director: Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Neil Bell, Philip Jackson
Cast: Mike Leigh
Synopsis: The story of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre where British forces attacked a peaceful pro-democracy rally in Manchester.

The Wind (123min, Biography | Drama)
Director: Pernille Fischer Christensen
Cast: Alba August, Trine Dyrholm, Maria Bonnevie, Björn Gustafsson
Synopsis: Biopic of Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren, the author of numerous children’s books and creator of Pippi Longstocking.

INDIE & LIMITED RELEASES

Amazing Grace (G, 87m, Documentary | Music)
Director: Alan Elliott, Sydney Pollack
Cast: Aretha Franklin, Reverand James Cleveland, C.L. Franklin, Alexander Hamilton
Synopsis: A documentary presenting Aretha Franklin with choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles in January 1972.

Teen Spirit (PG-13, 92m, Drama | Music)
Director: Max Minghella
Cast: Elle Fanning, Agnieszka Grochowska, Archie Madekwe, Zlatko Buric
Synopsis: Violet is a shy teenager who dreams of escaping her small town and pursuing her passion to sing. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a local singing competition that will test her integrity, talent and ambition. Driven by a pop-fueled soundtrack, Teen Spirit is a visceral and stylish spin on the Cinderella story.

Khalid: Free Spirit (1hr 35m, Music/Performing Arts)
Director: Emil Nava
Cast: Khalid and friends
Synopsis: Multi-platinum global superstar Khalid celebrates the upcoming release of his sophomore album “Free Spirit” with a special one-night fan event featuring the big screen premiere of the companion short film, also titled “Free Spirit”.

The Public (PG, 122m, Drama)
Director: Emilio Estevez
Cast: Jena Malone, Gabrielle Union, Emilio Estevez, Alec Baldwin
Synopsis: An act of civil disobedience turns into a standoff with police when homeless people in Cincinnati take over the public library to seek shelter from the bitter cold.

Storm Boy (PG, 99m, Adventure | Drama | Family)
Director: Shawn Seet
Cast: Jai Courtney, Geoffrey Rush, David Gulpilil, Erik Thomson
Synopsis: A beautiful and contemporary retelling of Colin Thiele’s classic Australian tale. ‘Storm Boy’ has grown up to be Michael Kingley, a successful retired businessman and grandfather. When Kingley starts to see images from his past that he can’t explain, he is forced to remember his long-forgotten childhood, growing up on an isolated coastline with his father. He recounts to his granddaughter the story of how, as a boy, he rescued and raised an extraordinary orphaned pelican, Mr. Percival. Their remarkable adventures and very special bond has a profound effect on all their lives. Based on the beloved book, Storm Boy is a timeless story of an unusual and unconditional friendship.

The Best of Enemies (Biography | Drama)
Director: Robin Bissell
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Taraji P. Henson, Wes Bentley, Alyssa Marie Stilwell
Synopsis: Civil rights activist Ann Atwater faces off against C.P. Ellis, Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1971 Durham, North Carolina over the issue of school integration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPXTlvnE08A

Suburban Birds (118m, Drama)
Director: Sheng Qiu
Cast: Zihan Gong, Lu Huang, Mason Lee
Synopsis: Some ground subsidence has occurred in a suburban area and a team of engineers, including Hao, is dispatched to investigate the cause. After days of wandering around in the empty suburb looking for answers and carrying his heavy gear, Hao walks into a primary school where he finds a diary chronicling the story of a boy and the separation of what seems to be an intimate group. As the investigation keeps going, Hao discovers that this diary might contain prophecies about his own life.

Billboard (89m, Drama)
Director: Zeke Zelker
Cast: Eric Roberts, Heather Matarazzo, Leo Fitzpatrick, Darlene Cates
Synopsis: Times are tough, listener-ship is down and Casey needs to come up with a plan to save his radio station, WTYT 960, and fast! Casey’s grand plan is to host a billboard sitting contest, where four lucky contestants have the opportunity to win “nine-sixty thousand dollars and a mobile home”. All they have to do is be the last person to survive, living on a billboard.